Automatic stoker



Patented Sept. 11, 1934 AUToMATIc s'roKER Robert M. Robertson, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,

assigner to RileyStokerCorporation, Worcester, Mass., a corporationof 'Massachusetts Application November 20, 1931,' Serial No. 576,357

4 claims.

This invention relates to automatic stokers, and more particularly to stokers of the underfeed type which are arranged to deliver fuel from a hopperlocated outside the furnace into an 5- underfeed retort located within the furnace.

Certain difficulties have been encountered in the past when such stokershave been installed in connection with furnaces having central firing doors. The most desirable location for the stoker 0 hopper is directly in frontv of and close to the furnace door, but when placedin this position the hopper prevents opening of the door. The door must be opened occasionally to permit cleaning of the re, or to allow fuel to be added to the fire by hand in 'case theV power supply `vto the stoker should fail. Moreover, the fuel feeding mechanism of the stoker sometimes `becomes obstructed by a foreignbody, such as a block of iron, which is mixed with the` fuel. If this occurs, 2U it may be'necessary to remove the hopper in order to free the mechanism. l f' While these problems have been recognized, and various solutions offered, none ofthe proposed constructions have proven entirely satisf factory in practice. With certain prior arrangements, itis necessary to empty the fuel'hopper completely before it can be removed. Other arrangements are complicated and expensive, and still others require a large amount of aisle space in front of the furnace.

It is accordingly the main object of my invention to provide an automatic stoker which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, and which is so arranged that the-fuel hopper may be located closely adjacent to vthe furnaceiiring door, and yet the hopper may be 'readily removed to permit access to the door when necessary.-

It is a further object of theinvention to provide an automatic stoker with a fuel hopper which may be removed from its operative position and returned thereto with a minimum of effort, and preferably without emptying the fuel from the hopper.

With these and other objects in View, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, my in- Vention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.

In accordance with my invention, I provide an automatic Stoker having a fuel feeding mechanism arranged to deliver fuel to a furnace for combustion therein. A fuel hopper is mounted above the feeding mechanism to supply fuel thereto by gravity, and the hopper is supported by a track which preferably extends parallel with Cil the furnace front wall.` 'Ihe hopper may be moved alongthe track when it is desired to obtain access to the furnacering door or to the interior of the fuel feeding mechanism. `The track preferably forms a closure -for the bottom of the hopper, except when the hopper is oper'- atively positioned above the fuel feeding mechanism. The hopper is preferably provided with wheels which engage the track and allow the hopper to be moved with slightV exertion on the part of the operator.

Referring to the drawing illustrating one embodiment of theV invention, and in which like referencenumerals indicate like parts,

1 is a vertical section through an auto- 70 matic Stoker, the section being taken on the line 1-1 of Fig.\2;`and v' Fig. 2'is a front elevation ofthe Stoker, certain parts being4 shown in section on the line 2--2l of Figi. 'l

l The embodiment illustrated in the Y drawing comprises a horizontal fuel conduit or ram casing 10 within which is mounted a reciprocable ram 11 arranged to be vactuated by a hydraulic motor 12 in axial alignment therewith. These parts form a 80 fuel feeding mechanism extending outwardly from and perpendicular to the front ,wall 14 of a furnace or combustion chamber 15, and the ram 11 serves to deliver fuel to an underfeed retort 16 located'within the furnace and provided with air 85 supplying tuyre blocks 18. A door 19 is provided in the Wall 14 above theraml casing 10. Theparts as so far described are of usual and Well-knownA construction. Y

In order to supply fuel to be delivered by the ram 11 into the retort 16, I provide an opening or throat 21 in the upper wall of the ram casing l10, and I mount a fuelhopper 22 above this opening. This hopper 22 comprises a rear wall 24, two side Walls 25, and a front wall 26. The rear Wallof the hopper is preferably vertical, and the remaining walls are inclined and converge toward the bottom of the hopper. The hopper is open at the bottom, so that fuel may pass freely into the ram casing.

It will now be seen that the hopper 22, when in its operative position, is directly in front of and close to the furnace door 19, and therefore prevents opening of the door when it is desired to clean the fire. In order to avoid this difficulty and permit the easy removal of the hopper when necessary, I provide a horizontal track 28 which forms a support for the hopper. This track is preferably arranged parallel with the furnace front wall 14 and below the door `19, and extends 110 for a substantial distance to one side of the ram casing 10, as shown in Fig. 2.

As illustrated the track 28 may be formed from an ordinary structural steel channel member, arranged with the web of the channel in a horizontal plane and the flanges extending upwardly. The channel flanges form two spaced parallel rails which extend on opposite sides of the opening 21, and the hopper 22 is preferably provided with four flanged wheels 30 which rest upon the upper edges of these rails, so that the hopper may be easily moved along the track without excessive friction. The broken lines in Fig. 2 indicate the position to which the hopper may be moved to allow access to the furnace door 19.

The channel member 28-'is 'shown fastened at one end to the top of the ram casing 10 by means of bolts 32, and its other ,end may be supported by a pipe column 33 resting on the floor. extending through the channel flanges serve as stops to prevent the hopper from running off the ends ofthe track., A ribu36 (Fig. 1) is shown welded tothe rearflange o f the channel, and 'this rib overlapsa similar rib l3'7 on the rear wall 24 of the hopper, thus preventing the hopper from tippingforward when fully loaded. The bottom ofthe hopper is located close to the top surface of the channel web, and the latter is cut away at 39 to the size and shape of the throat 21 to. allow fuel to pass therethrough when the hopper is in its operative position.

u The operation of the invention will now be apparent from the above disclosure. The hopper 22 is filled with fuel, and the ram 1l is reciprocated by means of the hydraulic motor 12. The fuel passesY by gravity through the opening 39 and throat 21 into the ram casing 1Q, and is forced by the ram into theretort 16. Air Vf or combustion of the. fuel is'sup'plied through the tuyre blocks 18. When it becomes necessaryto open the door 19 toclean the lire, or if the ram 11 should become blocked by"sorn`e foreignbody, the hopper -22 can be easily pushed'along the trackand out of the way. Itis not necessary to first empty the hopper, for the web ofthe channel member forms a plate which fits closely against the hopper bottom and provides aclosure which automatically prevents leakage of fuel. The track28 may be extended as far as desired in any direction, and may be arranged to passclose tor or into the fuel bin, so that the hopper may be readily filled when empty and then rolled back into'` itsnormal position above the ram casing.. The channel member 28 forms a convenient ash ,pan into4 which clinkers from the re may be hoed through the. door 19, and from whiohthey may, be shovelled into a wheel-barrow or other receptacle. The entire construction is simple Vand inexpensive, and provides a very satisfactory and practical solution to a diicult problem.

Bolts 34:l

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination of a furnace wall having a door therein, an 'opening beneath the door, and a fuel feeding mechanism located below the door and arranged to deliver fuel through the opening, with a channel member mounted above the fuel feeding mechanism and parallel to the wall, and a fuel hopper having wheels resting on the flanges of the channel member, the channel member being located below the door .and arranged to serve both as a track along which the hopper may be moved from in front of the door and as an ash pan for the collection of clinkers removed through Vthe door when the hopper is moved from in front thereof.

2. An automatic Stoker comprising a substantially horizontal ram casing having an open throat in its upper wall, a ram reciprocable within the ram casing, ahorizontal track mounted above the ram casing and extending transversely thereto, and Aa fuel hopper mounted above the track and arranged to deliver ,fuel `by gravity through said throat, the hopper being provided with wheels which rest on the track, whereby the hopper may be moved along the track to allow access to the throat of the ram casing.

3. .AnV automatic stoker comprising aV fuel feeding mechanism having an opening in the upper portion. thereof for thek delivery of fuel thereto, -a channel member mounted above the fuel feeding mechanism with its web horizontal and its flanges extending upwardly, the web of the channel member being out away above the opening, and a hopper vmounted above the channel member and having an open bottom closely adjacent` to thawebof the channel membenthe hopper being provided with wheels which rest on the upper edges of the flanges ofthe channel member, whereby the hopper may be moved along the channel mem-ber without leakage of fuel therefrom. y Y

4. An automatic stoker comprising a substantially horizontal ram casing having an open throat in its upperl wall, a ram reciprocable within the rain casing, a channel member mounted upon the ram casing with its web horizontal .and its flanges extending upwardly, the web of the channel member being cut away above the ram casing throat, and a hopper mounted above the channel member and having an open bottoni closely adjacent to the web of the channel member, the hopper being provided with wheels which rest onthe upper edgesof the flanges of lthe channel4 member, -wherebythehopper may be moved along the channel member without leakage of fuel therefrom. Y

ROBERT M. ROBERTSON. 

